Brave New World
by Sandrine Shaw
Summary: The cure isn't the beginning. It's the beginning of the end.


**Brave New World**  
by Sandrine Shaw

1.

**cure.** _n._  
a complete or permanent solution or remedy.

2.

They should have been more cautious, less gullible, less eager to buy into the idea of the cure as an answer to all their prayers. _A cure for vampirism_ they hear and think: a cure for the blood-lust, the thirst for violence, the heightened emotions. A cure for being cursed to staying as you are as the people you love wither and die around you.

What they fail to understand: the cure for immortality isn't _life_.

They learn this the hard way.

3.

"Did you know?" Caroline asks Klaus. It's the first time she's spoken to him since he started killing off people to punish Tyler for his little attempt at a rebellion, and Klaus always wondered if she was keeping her distance because she was mad at him or if she knew that if he saw her, he might forget that he liked her and kill her as well.

"If I wanted them dead, it would have taken far less elaborate planning, love." He smiles ruefully. "No, I'm afraid not even I could have seen this spectacular twist coming."

She narrows her eyes, blazing suspicion at him. "Then why did you stop actively pursuing the cure?"

"Come on, love, isn't that obvious? I only ever wanted it because Elena's return to humanity would have ensured my supply of doppelganger blood. But since the hybrids proved not to be the loyal sort of following I'd hoped they would be, I suddenly found myself lacking any uses for it."

What he doesn't say: _I knew that if you found the cure, you would likely try to use it as a weapon to destroy me. _

Caroline and he have a habit of never talking about the various plans she and her friends have made to ensure his annihilation and how he's perfectly aware of how she's playing him, and it doesn't seem the right time to break the pattern.

She just looks at him for a long moment, as if she's trying to decide if he's speaking the truth or if he was indeed aware that the mythical cure turned out to be the perfect poison: sweetly luring them in, having them seek it out and voluntarily consuming it, only to bring swift, irrevocable death. There's something akin to poetic justice about it: a vampire looking for redemption and humanity and finding death instead, and Klaus would appreciate the irony of it if the situation were different.

Perhaps his glum thoughts reflect on his face, because Caroline's attitude softens when she appears to have decided that he's not been actively letting them walk into a trap.

"I'm sorry about Rebekah," she says.

4.

There are no bodies to bury. Nothing left but ashes spread over grass, blown away at the first gust of wind.

Damon stands and stares at the spot where it happened, and he hates himself in equal measures for not being persuasive enough to stop them (_There's nothing wrong with being a vampire_, he told Elena. Told Stefan, _You don't even know how to be human after 150 years_) and for not being brave enough to join them.

He's burnt through the early stages of grief quickly. Denial didn't last as long as he'd have liked, and his outburst of anger and rage was brief and violent and faded when Jeremy slammed him face-first into a table and held him down embarrassingly easily with his new hunter skills until all the fight had gone out of Damon.

Now he's stuck somewhere between bargaining and depression, between _we have to find a way to bring them back; there has to be something_ and the temptation to take off his daylight ring and walk into the sun. For now, the possibility of a fix-it – no matter how far-fetched and remote – cancels out the desire for death, but who knows which one is going to win out when he finally reaches acceptance.

5.

They're all too caught up in mourning to realize how Shane is leading Bonnie onto a path of dangerous magic and poisonous power until it's too late.

More death. More destruction. More gravestones standing on top of empty ground.

Loss is something you get used to after a while, but without Elena's strength, her optimism, her unwavering faith that it will eventually get better, it's harder to pick yourself up again. Harder to stick together. She was the glue that kept them all from falling apart, both individually and as a group. How much, they only realize now that she's gone.

She was wrong, of course. Things don't get better. They just carry on the same way and the body count – if anyone bothered to count anymore – rises.

6.

Caroline is the first to leave.

"I'll come with you," Tyler says at the same time as Klaus tells her, "Good. We can be in Europe by tomorrow night and have dinner in Paris."

They glare at each other, like they're ready to tear into each other, tear out hearts and rip out throats.

Klaus hasn't killed Tyler yet because that's not how he punishes people who went against him. He wants them to feel the pain of losing everyone they love, and they can't do that when they're dead. (Caroline wonders if the fact that she's alive is a sign that Klaus is willing to deviate from his _modus operandi_ for sentimental reasons, or if in truth he just assumes that Tyler has already lost her even if she lives.)

Tyler hasn't killed Klaus yet because he hasn't found a way.

Caroline closes her eyes and sighs wearily.

"No," she tells them. "I'm going on my own. You want to kill each other? Fine, just stay here, and if you wait long enough, this town is going to do the job for you. Just leave me out of it; I watched too many people die."

They follow her anyway.

7.

Damon disappears on a sunny day in July. One of the cars is gone from the garage, but all his belongings remain behind.

Jeremy packs his bags, grabs his crossbow and Alaric's car and takes off to wherever the road takes him. His tattoo starts growing.

Matt goes away to college on the other side of the country. He meets a girl, blonde and beautiful if a little sharp-tongued and insecure at times. They fall in love, get married, have kids, and years down the line, when Matt reads fairy tales to his daughter before she falls asleep, he can almost forget that the monsters are real.

None of them return.

8.

The _Welcome to Mystic Falls_ sign is old and faded, in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint.

When they're driving down the main road, she slides the sunglasses down her nose and watches the houses passing by. There are few old buildings she recognizes among the ugly modern constructions and shiny shopping centers.

"I like what they've done to the place," Katherine says, all biting sarcasm and pointy smiles. "You think anyone's still around?"

Elijah turns towards her without letting his driving suffer from the diversion of attention. "We could stop and have a look," he suggests, and Katherine snorts.

"I'd rather cut off my hand. This town is like a bad luck charm. Just passing through is potentially fatal. Just get us out of here."

Even though Elijah's indulgent smile implies that he considers her superstition foolish, he complies and accelerates. It's only when they leave the city limits behind that Katherine feels like she can breathe easily again.

1.

Elena takes Stefan's hand, entwining their fingers and offering a smile, happy and blinding.

"We should take it together. At the same time. I know it's a silly romantic notion, but I like the idea of us starting our new life together right at the same point."

Rebekah rolls her eyes at them and snatches the cup from Elena's hand. "You two are making me gag," she says. "This is about having a second chance at being human, and you act like you're getting fucking married."

She sips from the liquid, and it's sticky sweet and tastes like fresh blood.

Stefan takes it from her. "It's about a new life, Rebekah. It's ours to do with it as we wish. A brave new world."

He raises the cup to Elena's lips and they drink.

Fin


End file.
